Manny Pacquiao flashback: legendary trainer Freddie Roach and Philippines’ rising star Eumir Marcial ready to start pro journey
- The 24-year-old Marcial meets Roach for the first time at the American’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California
- Roach is preparing Marcial for his first pro fight early next year and the Olympic Games in Tokyo
Rising Filipino star Eumir Marcial walked through the doors of Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California, on Thursday and the legendary coach instantly experienced a flashback to 2001.
It was the same doors that Manny Pacquiao walked through 19 years ago on his way to becoming one of the world’s best pound for pound fighters. Marcial is now hoping to emulate his idol and compatriot as a legend in world boxing with Roach by his side.
The 24-year-old Marcial met Hall of Fame trainer Roach for the first time as he began his journey as a pro fighter. Marcial has signed a pro deal with Pacman’s MP Promotions but will still be eligible to represent the Philippines at next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Roach – an integral part of Pacquiao’s team for most of his record eight division titles – is preparing the Zamboanga City native for his professional debut, which will probably take place early next year, as well as for his Olympic gold medal bid.
“When Eumir walked through the door into the upstairs gym, I flashed back to 2001 when Manny first walked through the same door looking for someone to do mitts with him,” said Roach in a media release.
“Eumir and I had a great time. I told him the story of how Manny and I met, and showed him the original ring where we trained for so many fights, the dressing room Manny used in the original portion of the gym, and had a nice talk about what we expected from each other.
“There is one difference between my first look at Manny and Eumir. Manny was fighting at 122 pounds, while Eumir will be starting at 160. That’s quite a difference.”
After giving Marcial and MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons the cook’s tour of the top floor of Wild Card, they moved to the more private downstairs gym for a workout.
“We did four rounds of mitts followed by work on the heavy bag and the speed bag,” said Roach. “Eumir has a lot of power and talent but we have a lot of work to do. It’s a very unusual situation working on a fighter’s professional debut knowing that we will be preparing for the Olympics after he turns professional. I really hope we can be the first to bring a world title and Olympic gold to the Philippines. That would be very special.”
Marcial said he felt like he was “walking in Manny’s footsteps”.
“Freddie Roach is a boxing legend in the Philippines and to think I am now training with him, it’s a dream come true,” he said. “I felt like I was walking in Manny’s footsteps when Freddie was giving me the tour of the original part of Wild Card and telling me stories about training with Manny.
“To see the Philippines flag so prominently displayed made me very proud. And working out with Freddie was a great learning experience. I cannot wait to return for our next session.”
Before the pandemic shut the world down, Marcial had been on a roll. He punched his ticket for the 2021 Olympics in March by winning all four of his bouts in the Asia-Oceania Olympic Qualifying tournament in Amman, Jordan. Marcial was the top seed in his division.
Last December, he captured the gold at the 30th Southeast Asian Games as well as the silver medal at the 2019 World Boxing Championships.
